Madam Chair, I rise on a point of order. You indicated that members were permitted to speak more than once, and I would just like clarification.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 56% of the vote.
Forestry December 13th, 2004
Madam Chair, I rise on a point of order. You indicated that members were permitted to speak more than once, and I would just like clarification.
Taxation December 10th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government threatened Bishop Henry of Calgary when he dared to talk about Catholic teachings during the last election, and it did it using revenue agency's tax cops. When the bishop talked about these threats, Scott Reid, the Prime Minister's spokesman, called the bishop's comments, “a ridiculous and unconscionable allegation”. Scott Reid's attack on the bishop is despicable, an attack on his honesty and integrity.
Will he be made to apologize, and will he be disciplined?
Department of Social Development Act December 6th, 2004
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for his little history lesson on the mountain pine beetle. Having lived in central B.C. where the main part of it started, I am well aware of the facts that he brought out.
The government has not recognized that this is a full-fledged natural disaster. It is not just some little bug that just happened along in B.C. This is in the same magnitude as the floods in Manitoba, the ice storm in Ontario and Quebec, and the floods in Saguenay. There the federal government recognized that they were in fact natural disasters.
This, which the government does not get, is as much of a natural disaster as any of those other examples. That is the issue. This is a natural disaster that is destroying the forests of British Columbia. It is destroying an industry in British Columbia that has contributed billions of dollars in tax revenue to the coffers of the federal government over the last many decades.
Two years ago the B.C. minister of forests came to Ottawa and asked for $120 million. That member knows it. He got $40 million. There is another 10 year plan needing $800 million based on the new assessments. The government has a responsibility to respond to that request.
Department of Social Development Act December 6th, 2004
Madam Speaker, I am here tonight because I asked the government, a couple of weeks ago, about responding to the issue of the pine beetle infestation in the forests of British Columbia.
I purposely asked the minister of forests because of his long and excellent background in the forest industry. I believe that, of all the people on the Liberal benches, the minister of forests would be the one who would know the issue far more than any one of them or all collectively.
I asked the minister why the government had not responded, despite calls from the province of B.C., for assistance in mitigating the damage that the pine beetle infestation was causing in the forests of B.C.
At the present time there are approximately 300 million cubic metres of lodgepole pine in British Columbia that has been infected and killed by pine beetles. That number is expected to rise to 1 billion cubic metres of lodgepole pine, which is a major part of the softwood harvesting in British Columbia. To put it another way, by 2013, 80% of all the lodgepole pine trees in British Columbia will have been either killed or infected by the mountain pine beetle.
About two years ago, the B.C. minister of forests came to Ottawa with a five year plan. It was based on the assessments at that time. The minister asked the federal government to participate in this five year plan. The cost was about $600 million. This was in order to mitigate the infestation, and participate in the reforestation. The province asked the government to join in.
Two years went by. The government did not respond in any way to that mitigation salvage plan. I want to ask the government, why not?
Forestry December 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, recently when I asked the government about helping out with the pine beetle crisis in B.C., the response from the Minister of Natural Resources demonstrated clearly that he did not know the difference between a pine beetle and a 1960s rock band.
In B.C. right now there are 300 million cubic metres of dead pine. In eight years, there will be one billion cubic metres of dead pine. The government has not responded.
When will it stop ignoring British Columbia? When will it stop the disdain it has for British Columbians and come to the aid of our province in this crisis?
Petitions November 26th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand today on behalf of hundreds of citizens from the town of Quesnel, B.C., in my riding, which supports the organization Citizens Against Sexual Exploitation which serves to protect children from sexual predators. Their petition draws the attention of the House to the fact that our children need protection from sexual exploitation.
Therefore, these petitioners from Quesnel, British Columbia, call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to raise the age of consent from 14 to 18.
The annual White Ribbon Campaign is very effective in supporting their cause. I would ask for unanimous consent to present this white ribbon as a symbol of their campaign as part of my petition.
Department of Canadian Heritage Act November 26th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed with the commitment the member for York South—Weston has to the preservation, protection and enhancement of our national parks which, as everyone in the House knows, are the most beautiful national parks that can be found anywhere in the world. He talked about responsibility and stewardship.
My party will be supporting the bill because we have to do whatever it takes.
The member, in his speech, talked about the government's commitment to the protection of our parks. He talked about the ecologically rare areas we have in Canada. I think every one of our parks can fit into that category.
I am wondering if the member for York South--Weston is aware of a very imminent threat that is about to occur and is, as we speak, already occurring on the west side of both the Banff and Jasper National Parks, which is the very large amassing of mountain pine beetles. They are continuing an easterly movement and will destroy every single mature pine tree in both of those parks if they are not arrested and dealt with.
This is important and I have to be critical of the government. This is a natural ecological disaster happening in the province of British Columbia. The reason that those beetles are there is that despite discovering the presence of the pine beetle back in the early nineties and numerous calls to the federal government from the province of B.C. to recognize this as a natural disaster, inasmuch as the ice storms in Ontario and Quebec and the floods in Manitoba, every request for assistance to mitigate and arrest the damage and progress of the mountain pine beetle has not been responded to by the federal government, to the point now that these bugs are on the western side of both Banff and Jasper National Parks.
I would ask the member whether the government is as committed as he says it is. After hearing the passion with which the member gave his presentation, I believe he is committed to doing everything he can, so I would ask him the following.
First, did he know about the presence of the mountain pine beetle and the damage they have caused and are causing on the western side of Jasper and Banff National Parks? If so, will he do everything he can to press the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Natural Resources to come immediately to the aid of the province to help mitigate the damage and stop the spread of the mountain pine beetle?
If we do not do that we will see a forest fire in the province of B.C. and in the westerly part of Alberta where those parks are, just as sure as we are speaking today, the magnitude of which we have never seen. This creates the most absolutely timber dry wood as an ultimate end that is ripe for a lightening strike. We could find both of those national parks in an imminent state of being ready for a fire disaster to hit.
Will the member please direct some efforts toward the ministers responsible to recognize the magnitude of the beetle infestation, the imminent danger and the damage that is already being caused to those two national parks?
Supply November 25th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I rise with regard to the request to see the clock as 5:30. I am sure that the opposition might be willing to agree to that if there was unanimous consent given for the hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound to finish his speech. I believe he requires a further seven minutes. I would ask for unanimous consent.
Supply November 25th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I understood that we were running about 15 minutes behind. Was that an error?
Supply November 25th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The hon. member appears to be reading from a document and he is saying that he is stating facts. Is it in order to ask the member to table the document from which he is getting that information?